1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing arrangement for a cylinder mounting body and a fixed hook member of a vehicle steering wheel lock assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional vehicle steering wheel lock assembly includes a body in which a cylinder is mounted, a fixed hook member securely attached to a first end of the body, and a movable hook member attached to a second end of the body. The second hook member is movable in two directions away from and toward the first hook member when the cylinder is in an unlocked position and is movable in only one of the two directions when the cylinder is in a locked position. In use, the lock is mounted to a steering wheel by means of firstly securely hooking a hook on the fixed hook member to a point of a peripheral ring of the steering wheel. Then, with the cylinder in a locked position, the movable hook member is pulled away from the fixed hook member until a second hook on the movable hook member is tightly hooked to another point on the peripheral ring of the steering wheel.
The fixed hook member must be firmly attached to the body; otherwise these two parts may be detached by an unauthorized person by means of breaking the connection therebetween. For this reason the body has a flange in a bore defined in the first end thereof, and the fixed hook member has an annular groove on an end thereof for securely engaging with the flange. However, the body can only be produced by means of two half pieces instead of cheap precasting since there is a flange in it. More specifically, the manufacturers must produce two half pieces by molding, and in assembly, the cylinder and the engaging end of the fixed hook member are firstly positioned in the two half pieces which are then welded together for subsequent polishing. This is high in cost and is troublesome in manufacture and assembly. Moreover, the fixed hook member has a considerable length which causes problems in welding and further processing which is time-consuming and results in an increase in cost.
Although a body integrally formed by precasting and utilizing a retainer to secure the fixed hook member to the body has been proposed, such a retainer can be easily destroyed as it is exposed outside, resulting in malfunction of the steering wheel lock assembly.
Therefore, there has been a long and unfulfilled need for a steering wheel lock assembly with an improved connection arrangement between the fixed hook member and the cylinder mounting body.